Covid live news: air travel disruption worldwide; China records most cases in four months | World news

Eire recorded 13,765 new circumstances on Saturday, greater than 2,500 greater than its earlier document of 11,182 circumstances simply yesterday. Roughly 83% of reported circumstances are believed to be the Omicron variant.

As of 8am this morning, there are 378 individuals in hospital with the virus and 87 individuals in intensive care with Covid.

The Division of Well being mentioned “massive volumes” of case numbers are anticipated over the approaching interval.

Tons of of hundreds of individuals within the UK will probably be compelled to self-isolate on Christmas Day after a document 122,186 examined constructive for Covid, the very best each day determine because the pandemic started.

In case you are self-isolating at Christmas and feeling alone, you’re removed from the one one. You may be a part of the comic Sarah Millican’s #JoinIn Twitter hashtag on Twitter and converse to others in your place.

Now in its eleventh yr, #JoinIn is an area for individuals who haven’t chosen to be alone however discover themselves on their very own on Christmas Day.

The Omicron variant has develop into the dominant pressure in Portugal, one of many international locations with the very best Covid vaccination charges worldwide, officers mentioned.

“The Omicron variant is already dominant in Portugal,” the Common Directorate of Well being mentioned, “accounting for 61.5% of circumstances on December 22.”

On Friday, Portugal recorded 11 deaths and 12,943 circumstances – a document since 29 January.

Faculties, bars and golf equipment are closed till 10 January, with individuals advised to do business from home and face masks necessary indoors.

Germany recorded 22,214 new circumstances, in contrast with 35,431 the day earlier than, officers mentioned. An additional 157 deaths have been recorded.

The most recent figures got here after well being authorities admitted they’re struggling to hint the contacts of individuals contaminated with Covid. In an interview printed yesterday, Ute Teichert, chair of the Federal Affiliation of Medical doctors within the Public Well being Service, mentioned “complete followup [of Covid cases] is sort of not going down for the time being.”

In some German states together with Baden-Württemberg, Berlin and Hamburg, contact tracing has been utterly suspended as officers deal with recording the “quite a few coronavirus infections”, she added.

Hundreds of individuals throughout England will obtain a Christmas Day booster jab because the vaccination effort continues within the face of document case charges.

Queues have been noticed at pharmacies as individuals wait for his or her “jingle jabs” with appointments obtainable in areas in London, Manchester, Swindon and Eastbourne. Vaccination clinics in Scotland, Wales and Northern Eire are closed at the moment.

NHS England has thanked workers who’re working or volunteering on Christmas Day. In a tweet, it mentioned: “From vaccinators to volunteers, porters to paramedics, midwives to psychological well being practitioners, and all different important employees – thanks to everybody who’s working over the festive interval!”

In the meantime, the federal government says it will likely be sending tens of millions of textual content messages on Boxing Day urging individuals to “get boosted now”.

The message will say: “Each grownup wants a Covid-19 booster vaccine to guard towards Omicron. Get your Covid-19 vaccine or booster.”

Malaysia has detected its first native case of the Omicron variant, officers have mentioned. In a briefing at the moment, the nation’s well being minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, mentioned the case was reported within the Borneo state of Sarawak on Christmas Eve.

The person, a 38-year-old Chinese language nationwide, is absolutely vaccinated and has not travelled overseas just lately, he added. The reason for the an infection will not be recognized and investigations are ongoing.

Malaysia has a complete of 62 Omicron circumstances, about half of that are from Saudi Arabia, adopted by 5 from the UK, 4 from Qatar and three from the US.

New Covid measures in England may very well be in place till late March underneath measures examined by the UK authorities’s scientific advisers, Press Affiliation reviews.

The modelling by consultants from Warwick College thought of a package deal of measures together with a ban on socialising with one other family indoors and a return to the rule of six outside, according to the Step 2 restrictions in place in England earlier this yr.

The analysis, printed on Christmas Eve by the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling, Operational sub-group (Spi-M-O), checked out imposing Step 2 restrictions on both 28 December or New 12 months’s Day and retaining them in place till 15 or 18 January or 28 March 28. A abstract learn:

A discount in mixing equal to half that of Step 2 ends in solely a really small discount in extreme outcomes in comparison with Plan B alone.

Step 2 has a a lot bigger impact, lowering the variety of deaths as much as thirty first Could by 39% (24-54%) if stored in place from 28 December till 28 March , and 18% (12-27%) if stored in place till 15 January.

The work was accomplished earlier than the most recent information suggesting the Omicron variant could produce much less extreme sickness than the Delta pressure.

New South Wales has recorded its highest ever Covid each day caseload, with 6,288 new infections introduced at the moment – by far the very best variety of circumstances in any Australian state because the pandemic started.

File Covid circumstances have been reported throughout Australia on Christmas Day as overwhelmed testing clinics have been compelled to shut and tens of hundreds of individuals spent the vacation in isolation.

Covid transmission additionally continued to surge in Victoria, the place authorities introduced 2,108 new Covid-19 infections and 6 deaths from the virus.

Queensland introduced a each day document of 765 new circumstances, with the state’s well being minister, Yvette D’Ath, declaring “this virus is all over the place now”. D’Ath confirmed 151 of these circumstances had the Omicron variant.

The main Catholic in England and Wales, the archbishop of Westminster, has urged the federal government to not reintroduce restrictions on church buildings amid document Covid-19 an infection charges.

Knowledge printed on Thursday, suggesting the Omicron pressure may trigger much less extreme sickness than the beforehand dominant Delta variant, has fuelled hypothesis in Westminster that Boris Johnson will resist imposing additional restrictions in England after Christmas.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols mentioned it was clear that giant areas equivalent to church buildings have been “not locations the place we unfold the virus”. He advised the BBC previous to midnight mass at Westminster Cathedral:

I might sincerely enchantment that they don’t once more think about closing church buildings and locations of worship.

He added:

I believe this nation has proven that folks could make good judgements themselves.

We’re at that time of claiming we perceive the chance. We all know what we should always do. Most individuals are smart and cautious. We don’t want stronger impositions to show us what to do.

It comes after an additional 122,186 lab-confirmed Covid-19 circumstances have been recorded within the UK as of 9am on Christmas Eve, one other document each day determine, whereas 137 individuals died inside 28 days of testing constructive.

Learn the total article right here:

In Bethlehem, the town the place Christians imagine Jesus was born, hundreds normally pack the streets throughout the Christmas interval. On common, Bethlehem welcomed 3 million guests a yr earlier than the pandemic, with Christmas alone drawing 10,000 individuals to the town’s lodges, round half from overseas.

However Israel, which controls all entrances to Bethlehem within the occupied West Financial institution, has barred its borders to foreigners in an effort to rein in infections from Omicron. In Manger Sq., numbers have been noticeably decrease as Covid fears overshadowed celebrations for a second straight yr.

“It’s very unusual,” mentioned Kristel Elayyan, a Dutchwoman married to a Palestinian, who got here to Bethlehem from Jerusalem advised Agence-France-Presse, including:

Earlier than (the pandemic), you had a bunch of individuals coming in from completely different international locations to have fun Christmas, and now you understand that everyone who’s right here might be not a vacationer.

Final yr, Bethlehem curtailed celebrations sharply with a digital tree lighting and only a handful of visiting scouts. This yr, the celebrations have been extra vibrant – however nonetheless a fraction of their regular measurement.

One store proprietor, Victor Epiphane Tabash, mentioned it was his 57th Christmas behind the counter. For him, as for a lot of shopkeepers round Manger Sq., “there may be nothing to say about Christmas”.

He mentioned he stored his enterprise alive throughout the pandemic by exporting as a result of no clients got here to purchase in particular person. He in contrast the pandemic to 2 earlier Palestinian uprisings, or intifadas, including:

We now have lived by the intifadas, wars. However the coronavirus is worse.

Japan’s Fukuoka prefecture has confirmed its first an infection with the Omicron variant, officers mentioned. The case was a results of attainable group transmission because the an infection route was unclear, its governor Seitaro Hattori mentioned.

New Omicron infections have been additionally detected within the Kyoto prefecture and got here a day after group transmissions of the variant have been present in one other western metropolis of Osaka on Friday.

In Tokyo, 38 new circumstances have been recorded at the moment, marking the eighth consecutive day for the variety of new circumstances to exceed that of the earlier week.

The variety of individuals getting their first jab of a Covid vaccine in England rose by round 46% within the week as much as 21 December, figures by the UK’s Division for Well being and Social Care present.

In complete, 221,564 first doses have been administered in England within the week of 15-21 December, a 46% enhance from the earlier week. The entire variety of individuals getting a second dose was 279,112, a 39% soar from the week earlier than.

The most important enhance was seen amongst younger individuals, with an 85% enhance in first doses for these aged 18 and 24 and a 71% enhance in first doses for these aged 25 to 30, PA reviews. Within the week as much as 21 December, extra over 60s had had a primary dose than throughout any seven-day interval since early June.

Officers in China are speeding to include outbreaks in a number of areas, together with the north-western metropolis of Xi’an the place 13 million residents have been underneath lockdown since Thursday.

Of the 140 new infections reported at the moment, 87 have been domestically transmitted, in accordance with officers, in contrast with 55 a day earlier.

In Xi’an, households have solely been permitted to ship one member outdoors each two days to buy requirements. Town has recorded 330 domestically transmitted symptomatic circumstances because the first case was reported on 9 December.

Instances from Xi’an have to this point unfold to 5 different cities together with Beijing, in accordance with state media. China is on excessive alert for brand new infections because it prepares to carry the Winter Olympics in February in Beijing.

The primary physician to alert South African authorities concerning the Omicron variant says India will see a surge in circumstances pushed by the pressure however the an infection could also be gentle in most individuals as in South Africa.

The Occasions of India quotes Dr Angelique Coetzee as saying present vaccines will certainly management the contagion however unvaccinated individuals “will probably unfold the virus 100%”, including:

I imagine it will likely be tough [for the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic to end soon]. I presume it should develop into endemic.

India will see a surge in Omicron-driven Covid-19 circumstances and concurrently there will probably be a high-positivity fee. However hopefully the vast majority of the circumstances will probably be as gentle as what we’re seeing right here in South Africa.

Passengers travelling over the Christmas vacation have been hit with disruption worldwide after airline corporations cancelled greater than 4,500 flights, in accordance with a flight monitoring web site.

A surge of cancellations on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day got here because the quickly spreading Omicron coronavirus variant meant carriers have been unable to workers their flights.

The web site of the flight monitoring agency FlightAware confirmed that 2,175 flights world wide had been scrapped on Christmas Eve, a sometimes heavy day for journey. Round 1 / 4 of these have been within the US. One other 1,779 flights have been scrapped worldwide on Christmas Day, together with 402 extra that had been scheduled for Sunday.

The majority of the cancellations got here from 5 companies, with China Japanese cancelling 474 journeys, whereas Air China scrapped 188. United cancelled 177 flights, Air India 160 and Delta known as off 150.

Learn the total article by my colleague Clea Skopeliti right here:

A United States Navy warship has delayed its deployment to South America due to a Covid outbreak amongst its crew, officers mentioned.

The USS Milwaukee, which deployed from Mayport, Florida, on 15 December will stay in port at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, the place it had stopped for a scheduled go to, Related Press reviews.

In an announcement, the Navy mentioned the ship’s crew is “100% immunised” and that each one of those that examined constructive for Covid-19 have been remoted on the ship away from different crew members.

Early final yr a serious navy outbreak of the virus noticed the USS Theodore Roosevelt sidelined in Guam for practically two months, and greater than 1,000 of the 4,800 crew members examined constructive. One sailor died, and your complete crew went by weeks of quarantine in a rotation that stored sufficient sailors on the ship to maintain it secure and operating.

Hey and welcome to the Guardian’s rolling protection of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Léonie Chao-Fong. Right here’s a rundown of all the pieces you may need missed.

• Passengers travelling over the Christmas vacation have been hit with disruption worldwide after airline corporations cancelled greater than 4,500 flights, because the quickly spreading Omicron variant meant carriers have been unable to workers their flights. Round 1 / 4 of these have been within the United States.
• The Chinese language metropolis of Xi’an, dwelling to 13 million individuals, reported a rise in each day Covid-19 infections because the nation’s newest hotspot entered its third day of lockdown. China as an entire reported 140 new confirmed coronavirus circumstances for Friday, a rise of 62% from 87 circumstances the day earlier than, its well being authority mentioned.
• One in 35 individuals in England had Covid final week, new figures present, with 1.7 million individuals testing constructive throughout the UK – the very best quantity on document to this point. In London, hospital admissions on account of Covid have practically doubled week-on-week, the most recent figures present. Throughout England, 1,246 admissions have been recorded on December 22, up 55% week-on-week and the very best quantity for a single day since February 16.
• Ministers might meet as quickly as Monday to find out whether or not new restrictions are wanted in England over the brand new yr amid rising considerations that hovering Covid circumstances might hit public providers.
• France reported a document 94,124 new each day Covid-19 infections on Friday whereas the variety of individuals hospitalised for the illness reached a seven-month excessive at near 16,200, in accordance with official information. The seven-day transferring common of recent circumstances additionally reached a brand new document of 66,417, a complete that has tripled in only one month.
• Folks in South Africa with out Covid signs will not have to check or self-isolate if a contact assessments constructive, the federal government introduced on Friday. Moreover, South Africans will probably be provided a booster dose of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine from Friday after the well being regulator accredited its use for most people.
• The US will subsequent week elevate the journey ban imposed on a number of southern African nations when the Omicron variant of Covid was first detected, AFP reviews. The ban utilized to South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi.

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